Sewing Project: Circle Neck Dress Disaster

Subtitle:  Who needs patterns anyway?  Me.

Preface:  Winston Churchill once said, "Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm."  So, let's just say I'm VERY enthusiastic about this project. 

It looks so simple and cute!  Although, seeing it with the distance of a camera I could work at Hot Dog on Stick in it.  Lemonade anyone? 

A circle neck is an almost universally flattering neckline.  I can't wear a scoop neck without looking like a hooker and a v-neck isn't always appropriate and can be difficult to find in dresses that aren't a wrap style (Diane Von Furstenberg's empire has never produced a dress that looked right on me despite claims that they look good on everyone). 
There are some pitfalls to the circle neck- it can look "maternity" very easily and I really do not wish to be mistaken for pregnant.  That would not do good things for my self-esteem.  And while it looks fresh and modern in some fabrics, in others it can just look dated and dowdy.  For instance, in Nancy-Reagan-red polyester gabardine. 

Pinning the back.  The shape of the collar is about the only thing I did well.

Notes about this collar:
-No, that center seam is NOT supposed to be visible.  But I sewed the front and back together the wrong way.  Mistake number two after fabric choice.

-Let's talk about the fabric choice; it is god-awful.  It frayed, a lot, and even with a hot iron I couldn't get it to lie flat at the (poorly) curved seams.  In turn this made the top stitching wonky.  If I'd edge stitched it I would have been in better shape, possibly, though it still wouldn't have been great. 

-My clear failure to cut on the grain properly just made me feel worse for that girl who got sent home on Project Runway last week for failing at the same thing and not being able to produce anything on the model other then a hot-glued feathered hat. 

-The front and back do not line up as perfectly as they should, though really with all the issues this dress has that is minor.

-Only good idea on display here is making the back collar a bit more square and the front rounder.  A totally circular circle collar would look costumey I think (frankly, a little Cleopatra-ey).

-I did use a pattern I drew on copy paper for the collar, however I thought for some reason I needed to have it in four sections (front/back in left/right) instead of just two (front/back whole curve).  I have no idea why I thought this.  It would have been much easier to have just two whole, self-lined pieces.  Also, I forgot a seam allowance when I made the pattern so the collar is not as wide as I'd envisioned. 

-Finished the collar before attaching the dress, which was lame.  I should have left the bottom of the collar open and inserted the dress portion into the seam.  This would have made the collar lie flatter and hid some of the imperfections in my cutting and I wouldn't have that weird seam of fabric across the back on the inside.

Pinning the pleat before I sew the front to the collar.

Arm holes actually turned out exceedingly well.

Finished you can see the pleat looks awesome and the collar looks frumpy.

Thick seams= ugly seams.

 Notes on the dress portion:
-Fabric choice is a very thin, light voile with yellow fuzzy polka dots.  It is totally see-through so I had to double up and make each side two layers.  But I didn't account for that in my cutting.    Nor did I account for seam allowances.  Again.  Surprise, surprise it ended up being too tight across my hips.  The double layers also made the side seams thick and noticeable.  Four layers of voile is still 4 layers.

-The arm holes are actually perfect and fit nicely, covering my bra and everything.  The little pleats I included to make it fit the collar better were actually pretty cute and added a bit of shape to the top.  I'd do that part again.  Maybe some gathering in the middle too.

-The rest of the dress has no shape.  For reasons unknown I cut the fabric straight instead of giving it any sort of line.  I wasn't thinking!  Plus it turned out really short and I didn't even bother hemming it.  I had my sister try it on yesterday since I don't have a dress form and since it's hard to see it well when on me and it was shockingly short (and too big for her).  I should have taken a photo.  Oh well!

Cost:  Mercifully, the cost was incidental.  The low quality gabardine was a remnant I purchased back in Feburary and the voile was $2.75/yard on clearnace.  This took me an afternoon/evening with many breaks to do other things.
Verdict:  Fail.  Insert enthusiasm here!  Why in the world am I trying to design a dress on my own??  Hopefully this is helping me learn or something.
I will probably try this again with many, MANY changes.  Just not today.  I need to recover. 

Sewing Project: St Patrick's Day Shamrock Doll Dress

Now, in miniature!

Actually, this didn't turn out that great.  Trying to top stitch around the armholes was virtually impossible (so tiny!) and I didn't leave enough room in the back for the Velcro so had to glue in an extra panel of fabric.  Plus, I didn't bother to hem it.  And it isn't lined.  Basically, it's a little bit of a mess.

I used a dress the doll already had (she's a Pottery Barn doll, her name is Merry, like "Merry Christmas", btw) to make the pattern.  If nothing else it is a good chance to wash the white silk dress she was wearing.  For an inanimate object she sure gets her clothes dirty. 

Notes on the project: 
-this took me 30 minutes to make the pattern and cut, 30 minutes to sew.  Seriously fast.

-tip for beginners: pattern making from existing clothing (in this case, doll clothing) wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be.  Take into account though that the back wasn't wide enough so maybe it is a little harder if you do it right.  Don't be afraid to try is what I'm saying!

-good use for leftover seasonal fabric.  I imagine this doll will end up with quite the wardrobe since I always overbuy yardage.

-despite the tutorial I watched about gathering where I was told to baste two rows of thread for pulling, I only did one.  And wouldn't you know the thread broke.  Sometimes the rules are there for a reason, folks.  Since the dress was so small I just gathered the rest by hand and eyeballed it as I sewed, but it would have been a real issue had it been a person sized garment.

Verdict:  Fail?  I can't really call this a success since the stitching is so off on the edges and I had to glue it.  Happy I made it, but it isn't something I'm especially proud of producing.  My daughter ABSOLUTELY loves it to death though.  She even melted my heart with an "I love you, mama" when she saw it. 

No Machine Sewing Project: Fernando the Bunny Stuffed Animal

We might have been a little punchy after 6 hours of sewing, but my sister and I decided that we could do this sewing thing all the time!  We could turn out stuffed animals everyday!  We'd make awesome gifts for friends and family!  We'd be the queens of stuffed animals!  Emboldened by our small kitty bat success, I decided to make my daughter a bunny that same night.

I made my own pattern, based loosely on the one I'd just used.  To make the pattern I took a piece of standard size construction paper, folded it in half and sketched the outline of half a bunny (like you probably did as a kid making paper hearts).  I then sketched around it about an inch for cutting line, using the original sketched line as the sewing line.   I cut it out on the fold and presto!

Meet FERNANDO the BUNNY!

Yes.  He is pink.  And named Fernando.  Don't hate!

Yeah, he didn't turn out so well.   

Honestly, he looked better at first.  I swear!  But he's had some accidents and has had more then a few emergency hole closing surgeries.  His head in particular has not fared well.  I also got a little lazy on some of surgeries and patched him up haphazardly. Plus, I didn't have any pink thread.

Here's the thing, I chose the wrong materials.  His front here is made from a toddler's stretchy knit sweater which isn't very stable, it wanted to unravel as soon as I cut it.  The back is a soft, thin corduroy which I think would have worked better without the pinto beans stressing the stitches, but even it wasn't really a good choice.  (The tail is a ruffle from the sweater twisted on itself).  Stuffed animals need to be soft, but they need some structure too.  In any event, the pinto beans which had worked so great for our first project failed here.  Fernando needed soft cotton fluff. Beans have escaped on many occasions from where the sweater material has pulled away from the seams. The holes make him a hazard around my two preschoolers.  They aren't likely to try to eat them or anything but they aren't above making a huge mess if given hundreds of beans. 

Evidence of his many fixed holes and an escaped pinto.  Poor Fernando!

Notes on the project:

-pattern making for a simple shape like this is not hard at all.  I encourage everyone to try doing it for themselves.  Just make sure there isn't too much detail, for instance the puffing out at his cheeks didn't show up at all in the final project because I didn't stitch straight enough. 

-again, cut the corners.  I turned him wrong side out a couple of times and "graded the seams" although I had no idea that's what I was doing at the time, in order for his arms and legs to have better definition by trimming away the extra material along the stitches.

-without the right fabrics, don't even bother, it'll be more hassle then it is worth. 

-don't sew when you are tired.  My hands were sore from hand sewing the kitty bat and it showed here. My stitch length was way wider and I'm sure that's part of the reason for all the seam weakness and lost beans.

-cost was $0 and about 3-4 hours. Materials were all recycled. 

Verdict:  Fernando the Bunny might be renamed Fernando the Learning Experience.  Not pleased with how he turned out in the end, but hey, he was only the second thing I'd ever sewn like this and he is kind of cute in a Frankenstein kind of way...  my daughter loved him even if she didn't get to play with him much.